Ah, the lessons to be learned and lessons to be taught as I drive a bus in Minnesota. A young girl boarded my bus this morning. I know her more or less since meeting her last fall. She occasionally has something important to tell me. Last Friday it was that she had a secret she really wanted to tell me, but wasn’t sure if she should. Then she said, I will tell you, but you must promise not to tell. I smiled at her and said go ahead and tell me.
This precious young fair-haired girl proceeded to blurt out her news and it was that her dad was going to propose to her mother and give her a ring that weekend.
Now let me briefly explain...
this man who lives with them is not her dad by blood, but loves her mom just the same and is becoming a father to this girl who needs one and I thanked God that the man is willing to commit instead of keeping one foot in and one foot out of the door
But I digress and explain too much...let me move on...
well, one more thing...
I know not enough of their lives to judge, but even if I knew more, it’s not my job to judge more or less, but I see the blessing in the joy on her face as she tells me her daddy will marry her mother and that’s good enough for me.
Well, that was last week and todays another day. As she bounded onto my bus this morning, it wasn’t very long at all before she had another announcement. But this was not a secret, but it brought her so much joy and it’s that her other tooth had fallen out as she was eating Ramon noodles of all things. She took it out of her mouth before swallowing it and was oh so pleased since now she had $8 from the tooth fairy.
Then she reminded me this was her 2nd tooth that had fallen out in a week and she said she hadn’t received a thing for the first one that fell out...
so she wrote a letter to the tooth fairy, letting her know of her missing teeth
So this morning she was so happy to not only receive $8, but also a note from the fairy that was in tiny printing and she had it with her right now
and it was that the tooth fairy apologized for not coming quicker but she had come now
Hmmm…now on the ride to the school as we were driving along she was talking of how some at her school don’t believe in the tooth fairy at all and she asked me what I thought...
what did I believe?
I told her to ask her parents to explain about the tooth fairy, but then my spirit said say more, but be careful of our culture and her relationship to her parents...
so I asked the Lord, what do I say?
And it was not clear until I heard her bragging away to the next group of children that boarded the bus and she went on and on about how the tooth fairy was real and I said…
This is what I’ll say about the tooth fairy...
I think children who have parents that like to give their kids hope tend to speak of stories and myths that have goodness in them...
I said my children were visited by the tooth fairy too and I know it’s good to want our children to have hopes and dreams, but we also need to tell children about the truth of real hope and real truth is God and his truth and I knew from all they’ve told me on the bus this year that each of their parents have some belief in God...So I hoped that this belief is what they are taught.
Well…I thought that might be the end of that, but after picking up my young man who would like to be king, she told her tooth fairy story again and the others started sharing their blessings of money they’ve received from losing their teeth and my prince in the making said with a look of disdain on his face the tooth fairy never visited me...
Now I was happy he had not been on the bus when I’d said what I’d previously said and not that it was wrong, but this child does not fit in with their experience and not that his parents don’t love him but perhaps they love him more?
By not feeding him with myths?
but perhaps not...
since he’s not seemingly filled with the truth of God’s love for him?
So when I looked in the mirror he still seemed to be a bit down and when I stopped to pick up one more student, I looked in the mirror and I said to my young prince...
you may not have had any tooth fairy bring you anything, but I have hope for you, that God will bless your life too and more than any money from a fairy could bring and I hope this seed takes root and he believes.
Well…it’s not over yet…could it ever be with me?
We arrived at the school where the students are transferred and while we waited as we do each morning for the signal to make the change, my lovely fair-haired girl came to me to show me her note from the fairy and as she showed me, my hand reached for the note and she pulled it back abruptly and said don’t you touch it and my young prince came up and he tried to do the sameand she just about threw a fit and I was surprised by her anger, but I said to my young prince don’t touch her note...
it’s very important to her, but I have something much better, it’s inside my purse...
it’s the word of God and he turned and walked away.
Oh well, I’ll just keep on planting and watering and praying and I know it may seem odd sometimes, but I really am not preaching to these kids, but just telling the truth of how I see how God values them and sometimes it seems the veneer on their face shows a slight crack and sometimes even seems to have fallen completely away and I see such a smile on their face ...
But I’ve found it doesn’t seem to last, this attractive countenance, for long, perhaps a day or a week or a month may go by before I see that mask come off again, but since I saw it come off once, I know the hardness hasn’t set in and the love of God can seep under the cement trying to cover them…
Now another thought came...
after all of these things and it has to do with wisdom teeth and owls and belief?
What is this all about?
Why are those teeth called wisdom?
And why is wisdom required to be pulled out?
Or else they’ll crowd out the good ones?
Hmmm…maybe it’s those good ones that should be pulled?
since wisdom is so needed…
oh well, the thought is not developed, another study might be required and if I pursue it any farther I expect I’ll write it down and perhaps even share it.
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